Ace Parker

Ace Parker(Clarence McKay Parker), (born May 17, 1912, Portsmouth, Va.—died Nov. 6, 2013, Portsmouth), American football player who was one of the top and most versatile athletes during the formative years of the NFL, a time when players still wore leather helmets. Parker, an agile runner, also excelled as passer, receiver, punter, and place kicker. He starred as a single-wing tailback at Duke University, Durham, N.C., where he also played baseball and basketball, and was sixth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy in his senior year (1936). The NFL franchise the Brooklyn Dodgers chose Parker in the second round of the 1937 draft, though he chose to sign with the Philadelphia Athletics baseball team as well, and for two seasons (1937 and 1938) he played both baseball and football. In his second season with the Dodgers, he led the league in total passing yards, and in 1940 he was named most valuable player and also led the league in interceptions and in extra points. Following the 1941 season, Parker served four years in the navy during World War II. He returned to football in 1945, playing one season for the Boston Yanks and one season in the new All-America Football Conference for the New York Yankees. Parker was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955 and into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.